Ball-bearing caster.



H. EDI/IONDS.

BALL BEARING CASTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.23. I9I6. 3921,51@ hmmm@ 26,1917.

THIRD T LAWRENCE BRAJIM AND OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBEA.,

ONE-THIRD TO VERNON' CHARLES CROFTS, BOTH CANADA.

FALL-BEARING CSTER.

I Specicaton of Letters Patent.

:Patenten aan@ es, tera Application tiled August 23, 1916. Serial No. 116,514.

To all whom t may concern: Be it known that li, ROLAND Epinprms, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and

" a resident of the city oi Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada,

have invented certain new fand useful improvements in Ball-Bearing Casters, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to improvements in casters, and the object of the invention is to devise a simple, practical and durable caster capable of being manufactured and sold at a low cost, in which the friction and strain are both reduced to the minimum, whichis easily and quickly assembled `or disassembled, and which is dust-proof, thereby providing for the maintenance 'of the de vice in a highly efficient condition at all times. A further object is to provide a caster in which the caster wheel is brought almost directly under the center of the load, thaty is to say, under the actual center of` the bearing around which the caster turns, so that an even distribution of the weight on the point of support is obtained. Application No. 131,300, tiled November 14, 1916, is a division of this case.

I attain these objects by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation oi the caster.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 0&6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation oi a modied form of the caster. n, n

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the center line of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail view or the collar in Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is a plan view or the plate in Figs. 3 and 4.

. Similar figures of reference indicate -snnllar parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates a collar formed preferably as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, having a bore 2. The collar` is recessed in its upper face, as shown at 8 in Fig. 2, and a plate 4 is inserted therein which the chair, table, or other indicated at A in Fig. 1, ter is to be attached, the plate being rigidly secured to the collar by soldering, welding, or any other suitable means. It is not however, necessary to use the plate 4 in conpiece of furniture, to which the casplate 'fits the leg of structing the assembled-collar, as it may be done without, and the fiat casting the collar .in one piece and of the designed shape." the bore may be roughly formed in the casting and drilled out to the proper diameters, or the collar may be cast solid and the recess and the plate 4 is formed in which is provided a square opening 5, as indicated in Fig. 2. 6 indicates a sleeve adapted to fit rotatably in the bore 2 of the collar and which sleeve is provided with pendent lugs 7 connected at their lower ends by means of a shaft 8,

top formed vby The recess in the top and bore formed by drilling'. The i upon which shaft is journaled a casterf wheel 9. The sleeve 6 is rotatably held in place when the caster is assembled by a stem 10 which fits rotatably ,the bore of the sleeve and which is provided on its lower end with a. head 11 and at its upper endff with a square portion 12 adapted to ft the square opening 5 in the plate 4, from which square portion 12 extends a wscrew 13 by means of which the caster is secured to the furniture, vided in the head l1 for ,driving the screw. The length of the sleeve 6 "is such that, when assembled, a space 15 is formed between the upper end of the sleeve and the inner face of the balls 16, which stem 10.

The caster described in the foregoing is suitable for attachment to legs of chairs, tables and the like where a central screw play freely around the may be employed, but for heavy furniture where the caster is to be attached to a dat surface a slight modiiication in the attaching means is necessary, as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6. In this construction the screw 13 is done away with, the stem 10'4 a screw driver slot 14 being pron I plate 4, in which space is vcarried a 'circular series of anti-rictlon ot thiamodied form of the caster is the same as has already been described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.

Although I have shown, in Fig. 1, the caster attached to the furniturefby means 5 of the screw 13, I do not desire tolimit myself to this method of attachment, as I may dispense with ,the screw and the stem altogether wheri attaching the caster to brass or iron beds, in which case the pin found 10 on each of the feet of such beds, as will be well known to those acquainted with the 'art, would take the place of the stem 10 and would be passed through the plate 4:

and the bore of the sleeve 6, the end of. the

A `pin being then riveted over.

The operation of the caster will be apparenton reference being had to the drawing, as it will be seen that the caster wheel 'l and sleeve turn about the stem 10 and also I that the balls 16 play loosely around the stem, moving in contact with the flat end of the sleeve and the inner face of the flat j top 4 of the bore 2, or the plate' 17 in the modica'tion. It will be seen further that aslthe sleeve fits rotatably' the bore of the collar, dust and dirt are excluded, so that i the caster is dust proof.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A ball bearing oas-'ter comprising a colt 80 lar recessed in its upper face, said collar having a restricted neck in its upper portion, a sleeve fitting rotatably the bore of said col- Y lar, a stem 'on which the sleeve is rotatably mounted, said 'stem having its upper end '35 ,threadedV and ,passing upward through the restricted neck of the collar, and anti-frictionballs mounted on the'inpper end of the saidgsleew bearing upon said stem and the neckforming elements.

l 2. ,A ball bearing caster comprising a collar, a plate 'co-acting` therewith, a sleeve fitting rotatably the bore of said collar, a stem on which the sleeve is rotatably mounted,said

stem having its upper endl threaded and passing u ward through the opening in the collar an having a squared portion tting the said opening,. and anti-friction -balls mounted on the upperend of the sleeve bear- 'ing u on said stem and said plate.

acting therewith upon which said balls bear,

the bore of the collar tting the periphery ofv the sleeve, means for securing the caster in position for service, and means for pneventing inadvertent rotation of said stem.

4. A ball ,bearing (iai-ster comprising a re-L cessed collar, 'a plate inserted in said recess, a stem depending centrally from said plate, a sleeve parallel throughout its length rotatable in the bore -of the collar and on the stem, and anti-friction balls bearing upon the plate of the collar and the stem.

5. Akball bearing caster comprising a recessed collar, a plate inserted in said recess,

a central stem extendingdownwardly fromsaid plate, a uniform diameter sleeve rotatable in the bore of the collar and on the stem, and anti-friction balls bearing upon the plate andthe stem. I

Dated at Vancouver, B. C., this 14th day of August, 1916.

ROLAND EDMONDS.

copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

` Washington, D. 0., 4 

